Corporate and managerial characteristics as drivers of social responsibility disclosure by state-owned enterprises

The public administration sector, including state owned enterprises (SOEs), has developed various types of information disclosure practice, in response to stakeholders’ demands, in parallel with developments in the private sector. This paper analyses the corporate social responsibility (CSR) information disclosed by SOEs and the influence exerted by the characteristics of the SOEs themselves (size, industry sector, degree of government ownership and number of years in operation) and by those of their managers (age, gender, CSR education profile and CSR responsibilities in the workplace). To do so, an index of CSR information disclosure was created, based on the responses made to a questionnaire in this respect. An empirical regression model was then applied to test and categorise the factors analysed. According to the results obtained, the size and sector of the SOE, together with the manager’s CSR responsibilities, are the factors that most significantly affect the online disclosure of CSR information.     

Business intelligence and analytics value creation in Industry 4.0: a multiple case study in manufacturing medium enterprises

Abstract

Medium enterprises (MEs) form a majority of enterprises in several regions, yet they are underrepresented in the literature. The digital transformation known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0) brings new data streams into enterprises. MEs and large enterprises will both leverage business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) to improve their business performance, so the study of the conditions favouring value creation of BI&A is of interest. However, there are few studies focusing on the impact of business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) on value creation in I4.0 and none focusing on MEs. Using a multiple case-study design, this paper explores factors linked to BI&A business value creation in manufacturing MEs that are undergoing an I4.0 transformation. Findings suggest enterprises resources and capabilities are not sufficient to predict business value: organizational learning and organizational culture have a non-negligible influence for MEs.     

Let's stay close: An examination of the effects of imagined contact on behavior toward children with disability

In line with current developments in indirect intergroup contact literature, we conducted a field study using the imagined contact paradigm among high-status (Italian children) and low-status (children with foreign origins) group members (N = 122; 53 females, mean age = 7.52 years). The experiment aimed to improve attitudes and behavior toward a different low-status group, children with disability. To assess behavior, we focused on an objective measure that captures the physical distance between participants and a child with disability over the course of a five-minute interaction (i.e., while playing together). Results from a 3-week intervention revealed that in the case of high-status children imagined contact, relative to a no-intervention control condition, improved outgroup attitudes and behavior, and strengthened helping and contact intentions. These effects however did not emerge among low-status children. The results are discussed in the context of intergroup contact literature, with emphasis on the implications of imagined contact for educational settings.     

Local Labour Markets Identification: a United Point of View*

Abstract. In this paper a unifying point of view is discussed of the methodologies and algorithms actually proposed for the identification of local labour market. The emphasis is on the main contributions to two broad methodological areas of functional regionalization and homogeneous spatial clustering. Most Italian contributions are considered in detail and some critical notes are pointed out in order to show that the methodological background is just the same for both approaches. The interpretations of the outputs of the proposed methodologies is discussed in terms of local labour markets.     

Meaning-Making,Negotiation, and Change in School Accountability,Or What Sociology Can Offer Policy Studies

In school systems around the world, countless reform strategies have focused on school and teacher accountability—the process of evaluating schools’ performance on the basis of student measures. Policy and education research has been dominated by debates on its effectiveness, where advocates highlight the positive effects on achievement while critics emphasize the negative consequences on pressure, morale, and autonomy. Yet the question is not so much whether to have accountability, but what form it should take. To answer this, sociologists contribute through their study of accountability’s organizational and ecological dynamics—key facets that are sidelined when researchers only focus on quantitative program evaluation. An organizational perspective highlights the meaning-making school actors and the general public have of the policy, viewing it through technical-rationalist and institutional-performative lenses. An ecological perspective highlights how the form of accountability is a negotiated outcome of larger macrosocial forces, and how accountability is itself contributive to larger social changes. This review suggests a broader conceptualization of accountability regimes, and the unique contribution of critical, organizational, and sociological perspectives to the study of public policies.     

Gender balance in the workforce and abortion attitudes: A cross-national time-series analysis

This article explores the relationship between gender balance in the workforce and attitudes towards abortion worldwide. Studies on macro-level conditions related to abortion attitudes overlook the role of gender balance in the workforce—specifically the degree of female representation in a country's workforce. There are strong reasons why this factor could shape abortion attitudes. We argue that such a gender balance creates necessary conditions to break with traditional, anti-abortion ideology and facilitates dissemination and public acceptance of pro-choice views. We test this argument with two different datasets - the Integrated Values Survey and three waves of the International Social Survey Programme—along with two outcomes: general tolerance towards abortion and tolerance towards abortion for pregnant women of low income. Using three-level random intercept models and multiple controls for individual and country-level conditions, the results support our hypothesis: In countries with higher gender balance in the workforce, individuals display higher tolerance towards abortion.     

Modeling random and non-random decision uncertainty in ratings data: a fuzzy beta model

AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis - Modeling human ratings data subject to raters’ decision uncertainty is an attractive problem in applied statistics. In view of the complex interplay...